


Sonata and Partita

by YAJJ



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abuse, Canon Compliant, Choking, Gen, Theft, Vanitas is a naughty boy but it's ok apparently, Violinist Vanitas, Violins, at least mostly, the boy cant read music but BOY can he feel it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 06:34:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YAJJ/pseuds/YAJJ
Summary: Vanitas didn't know that the day he stole that woman's violin would change his life forever.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 30





	Sonata and Partita

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to preface this by saying I don't know anything about violins. I got the picture of Vanitas playing his little heart out and it absolutely refused to leave. Not sure how accurate this will be but I CAN tell you how little I care about it being accurate.

Heart pounding, Vanitas flung himself through the Dark Corridor and landed smack in the middle of the small nook in the Graveyard he’d found and called home. A trail of Unversed followed him, one glancing back into the corridor to watch the rapidly blinking guards on the other side disappear. 

He did it. He did it!

A Flood crawled up into place beside him and stared at his prize, a small wooden thing with strings. It plucked at the string and flinched back when it made a noise, hissing like a cat. 

Vanitas finally turned his prize around toward him and got a good look at it. He hadn’t even known what he grabbed when he grabbed it; had just been aiming for something in the heat of the moment. He wasn’t even supposed to leave the Graveyard, but he was a fast learner. His Master used these corridors to get around, so Vanitas would too. He didn’t even know what world he’d snuck off too, but there had been a big white castle like nothing Vanitas had ever seen, and a sprawling green countryside. 

He could do without the nature, but the castle piqued his interests. When he spotted someone inside rubbing a stick against this thing and it made a  _ noise _ , he knew he had to have it. 

“So…” he said aloud, folding his legs to set it in his lap. “What is it?”

The Spiderchest near him shook its body, clacking forward and opening its mouth to store the bizarre thing. Vanitas ignored it. The Master wasn’t back yet, and didn’t have to not know that Vanitas had snuck off. 

The person had the fat part of it beneath their chin, strings up. Vanitas copied the memory and did the same. There was even a little black nest for his chin to fit. 

It fit perfectly and comfortably. Even destiny wanted Vanitas to have this thing. 

He lifted the stick and tried to remember how the person had used it. He set the stick against the strings, and pulled.

It made an awful raucous noise, a sound that should never be heard. The Flood clapped its claws against its antennae, the Spiderchest slammed its mouth shut and buried into the ground, the Axe Flapper fled the scene of the crime. 

The sound startled Vanitas something awful. He threw the thing and the stick to the side. What happened to that nice noise?!? The Spiderchest crawled out of the ground and swallowed it whole, shooting a glare his way. Vanitas shot one back. 

Whatever. It sounded awful, but at least it had been fun to grab.

* * *

His curiosity returned soon after. The Spiderchest reluctantly gave the thing back. This time, Vanitas sat on a short rock. He tucked his chin back into place and settled the stick back on top. He decided to be gentler, in case the sound was terrible again, and pulled.

It was. It was better than before, but it screeched in his ear and he  _ hated _ that. How did that person make the noise work?

A Flood nudged his cheek and hopped down onto his arm, balancing along until it stood by the skinny part of the thing. Three claws stood on Vanitas’ arm, while the fourth reached out to push a string. 

It turned its head very deliberately back, like it knew something Vanitas didn’t. Had it seen something when they stole it, that he hadn’t?

He chased the creature away, so it hopped down onto Vanitas’ knee and turned to watch. Well… its suggestion was better than nothing.

He took one of his fingers and pressed the string down. No noise was made again, but he lifted the stick to it and pulled it across anyway.

The screech was still there, that he hated with everything he had. But it sounded… different. Deeper. He pressed down two more strings, and the screech was different again.

That was… making the noise work. Sort of. That was something. 

He dropped his hand and patted the Flood on its head. The other Unversed were curious, poking their heads out, like they knew it was different. Now he just had to figure out how to make it sound like the woman had. 

...The woman would know. He wanted the sound to be nice like it was supposed to be. Now. The woman could show him. The woman  _ would _ show him. Vanitas would make sure of that.

* * *

The lady was in the same place Vanitas found her last time. This time, Vanitas stole his Master’s Dark coat, but didn’t wear his helmet, so she wouldn’t recognize him. He stormed up like he belonged there, and frankly didn’t care that he didn’t. 

He held out the thing and the stick, glaring hard. “ _ Make the noise work _ !”

The woman startled. She had found a new thing to play with, but it fell out of her hand. “Wha—“

“Make. The noise. Work.”

“Who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. The noise isn’t working; it’s just awful and loud and I hate it. You made it work. Make it work!”

“Do…” the woman paused long and hard, glancing to the thing and then back up. Her eyes were wide. “Where did you get that violin?”

_ Violin _ ? “I found it,” Vanitas lied. “No one wanted it because it makes an awful noise, but you can make it not.”

The woman made a long, quiet noise with her throat, then looked up. “Do you… are you asking me to teach you how to make music?”

“What’s music?”

“What’s  _ music _ ?” The woman asked. Her voice went from a little angry and annoyed to absolutely flabbergasted. “Wh-what’s  _ music _ ? Music is—is—is everything! Music is what makes our world turn! Music makes the sun shine and the—the birds sing! A life without music is a life not worth living!”

The sun shone in the Graveyard without music, so Vanitas was pretty sure she was a fucking liar. 

“Didn’t—didn’t your mother ever sing a lullaby to you? Have you never heard the church bells toll? That’s all music!”

Vanitas didn’t have a mother—certainly Master Xehanort or Ventus didn’t count as one and they would never sing a lullaby to him anyway—and he had no idea what a church was. “No.”

The woman paused and looked at him, eyeing him in a way that made Vanitas the smallest bit uncomfortable. She nodded and stood, grabbing another nearby chair and dragging it over. She collected her dropped thing and sat in the seat she had occupied before. “Sit. I’ve got time. Let me show you how to turn ‘noise’ into a tune.”

Vanitas was already regretting this, but he also wasn’t going to back down. 

He sat.

* * *

“Do,” Vanitas sang, leaning back against a cliff. The violin was settled back in place under his chin. He positioned his fingers the way Eveline had shown him. A Red Hot Chili was in his lap, helping him keep his tired arm up and warming his legs. It seemed pleased where it was, listening. Now that the noises didn’t screech anymore, the Unversed were content to ignore him, only warning him if they thought the Master was returning to this world. 

“Re.” He repositioned his fingers. The bow in his other hand sang against the strings. 

An Archraven perched on the rock overhead. There were a number of Unversed hanging around. Vanitas wasn’t sure what he was feeling to make them all appear, but he wasn’t really focusing on that anyway. 

“Miii.” He repositioned, then adjusted his arm on top of the Unversed. “Faa.”

He flinched. The pot looked up at him and chuffed in protest. It had heard it too. 

“Shut up. Faa,” he repositioned again, playing the attempted note one more time. 

The pot rumbled pleasantly and relaxed again. That was better. 

“S-” Wait, fuck. No. “S-sol.”

The pot rumbled again, amused and pleased. 

“La, ti, doo.” 

The Flood sitting beside him clapped its claws together, sitting back on its hinds. It looked wholeheartedly delighted with the sounds Vanitas had now figured out how to make. He could practically hear the little Unversed begging for more. 

In fact, he could relate. Since he’d nicked this violin and furthermore got away with it, he’d been spending a lot of time with it, making noises to drown out the wind and the suffocating loneliness.

He started piecing notes together, listening for pleasant combinations and not-so-pleasant accidents. This music thing was starting to make a lot of sense. When Eveline had said that music made the world turn, Vanitas was almost willing to believe her.

* * *

Vanitas couldn’t wait to get away from this stupid desert. To be allowed to leave, and so not get in trouble when he didn’t come back. He was sick of playing to himself and his stupid Unversed. He was damn _ good _ with this violin, and he wanted other people to know! The one time he’d tried—outside of Eveline, who he did visit semi-regularly when he couldn’t figure out how to make the next passage of music sound as nice as it possibly could—the Master had gotten pissed when he’d implied that he was doing  _ anything  _ other than training. Vanitas had since decided that his violin was going to be a secret. 

As it was, he was laying against the ground with his legs crossed, propped up against a rock. It wasn’t the best position for music-playing, in fact was probably one of the worst, but he wasn’t really playing to practice. He was just kind of… playing. Passing the time. Enjoying the way notes floated in and out of his ears and up into the gritty air. A few Jellyshades were stacked together on his belly, eyes closed and just enjoying the noise. A Hareraiser was perched on his knees. It strained them a little, but not enough that he complained. 

He couldn’t wait for the day that he could do this in a different place. Play his heart out, relax and enjoy the weather. Have people listening in, hearing him perform.

Vanitas would show them all. His Master, Ventus, Eveline, everyone. Vanitas was going to be the best damn violinist out there, even if it killed him. 

An Archraven overhead clucked at him and flew down, pecking at his hair. Vanitas knew well what that meant. He rolled over, knocking all of the Unversed on him to the side. A Spiderchest emerged from the ground and opened its mouth to him, so he could set the bow and violin inside. His Master was coming, and he would not be pleased if he knew what Vanitas was doing. It burrowed again just in time for the Master to come around a rocky outcropping and spy Vanitas. 

“There you are, boy. Training is going well, I assume?”

“Yes Master,” Vanitas lied, flickering eyes back to the Unversed behind him. They all knew what Vanitas knew, though, and would not betray him. 

The Master eyed him critically, eyes narrowed. Vanitas suddenly got the impression that he wasn’t as good a liar as he thought. 

No Name was out in an instant and coming for Vanitas’ throat. He called on Void Gear and smashed the blade away, leaping backwards. He landed wrong on one foot and stumbled, but only for a second. Surely Master Xehanort wouldn’t notice. 

“Show me, then!” the Master snapped. “Prove to me you aren’t a waste!”

They clashed, Void Gear against No Name. The Master insulted him routinely while Vanitas was too busy focusing on keeping his feet beneath him and not getting decapitated at the same time to fling his own back. No Name glanced off of Void Gear a number of times, rather than being blocked fully. Vanitas was going to get an earful for that. 

Finally, after a grueling battle, Master knocked Void Gear to the side and brought No Name up so quickly that Vanitas was unable to block it. The blade caught his chin with such force that he was thrown to the ground. He hit the dust on his back, and didn’t get back up. 

“Pathetic,” the Master said, kicking a nearing Flood to the side. “It’s like you haven’t even been training! What is your purpose?”

“To fuse with Ventus.”  _ To play music _ .

“What was that?” The Master stepped right up to him and placed his boot over Vanitas’ throat. It took everything Vanitas had to not choke. “What is your  _ purpose _ !”

“To fuse with Ventus and forge the X-Blade!” Vanitas spat around Master’s boot, grabbing his heel to hopefully make him back off. 

“And how do you intend to do that when you’re  _ slacking _ ! You  _ must _ be of equal strength with Ventus or he’ll just destroy you, and it’ll be for naught. Ventus is training with Eraqus now, growing stronger every day while all you do is slack off! You will double—no,  _ triple _ your training from now on, or I find myself a new apprentice. Am I clear? I said,  _ am I clear _ ?!”

“Yes!” 

Finally the Master picked up his boot and turned away, scuffing it on the ground as if Vanitas’ grime was somehow worse than the grime of the desert. Vanitas rolled over and coughed heavily, drawing life-giving breath back. The Master eyed him critically before waving his hand to open a Dark Corridor. He didn’t even bother looking in Vanitas’ general direction when he said, “No meals, two days. Perhaps that’ll inspire a little work ethic in you. If you haven’t improved by the time I return in two days, we’re through. Am I clear?”

Vanitas shot a hidden glare at him. “Yes, Master,” he spat. The massive jag-off didn’t even have the decency to look annoyed at him, just stepped through the Corridor without another consideration. Once he was through, Vanitas flipped him the bird for good measure.

“Jackass. Who does he even think he is, anyway?” Vanitas snarled. A nearby Unversed took a seat beside him and patted his back. “Find himself a new apprentice. What will he do, start over? He needs me. I’m fine. I’ll train later.” He wiped at a bead of sweat and held out his hands. He needed music to calm down. 

Sure enough, the Spiderchest appeared behind him and opened its mouth, digging out the violin and bow and handing them over.

* * *

Eveline named her violin Phillipe. Vanitas scoffed at her in public and told her the name and idea were both dumb.

In private, he named his violin Gloria, and the bow he called Stephan. He didn’t have to ask if they liked their new names; the proof was in the music they made. They liked their new names very much.

The Unversed loved listening in. They leaned on their sides or fronts or backs or sometimes just their claws and watched. He knew they were listening because they moved and swayed to the music. 

The Master still did not approve. He did not know. He’d already beaten him routinely when Vanitas wasn’t up to his standards. He’d once stepped on his fret-hand and broken three fingers. Vanitas hadn’t been able to play without shooting pain for weeks. He did training long and hard then, beyond pissed off. The Master had almost been impressed with his improvement. Almost. 

Vanitas knew for certain then that if the Master was to find out what he’d been up to instead of training, he’d take and break Gloria and Stephan. So he hid away every trace of them. He felt better with them locked away in an Unversed while the Master was around. 

“What should I play today, guys?”

A Thornbite patted his legs and chirped, twirling its vines around. When Vanitas folded his legs in front of him, it settled into place there. For some reason, he’d taken to getting lap-sized visitors when he played. Even more unknowingly, he didn’t really mind. As long as they weren’t in the way of his bow or violin, they could do what they pleased, and apparently what they pleased was to cuddle. The chill of their darkness was kind of nice against his stomach, anyway.

“I agree.” He didn’t know what it had said, but they were always pleased, anyway. He started the one with long, low strokes, and leaned back to imagine a real audience around him. By now, it was well deserved. 

The piece soon turned into quick low notes that showed his skill, lots of movements and octave changes. A piece like this used to make his arms tired, but by now he’d gotten used to it. He’d composed the damn piece, after all. Eveline had even been impressed. She had even once told Vanitas that he should find himself a real Master. Vanitas had been very frank when he told her that he didn’t need some (another) old fart coming along and telling him that everything that worked for him was wrong. Eveline had startled and then laughed. Apparently Vanitas said something funny. Honestly, he didn’t know what was funny about his opinion. 

It was easy for him to get lost in the music. He’d played this piece so many times, day in and day out, that when he played it, there could easily be nothing else in the world. Just him and this song. Even the Unversed took his relaxation at face value and paid no attention to their surroundings. 

And it wasn’t until Vanitas opened his eyes and looked up to see the lingering wisps of a dissipating Dark Corridor, that he realized just how dangerous that was. 

The Master was here. The Master heard it, certainly. Somehow. 

The Master would take Gloria and Stephan and break them. Right in front of him to teach him a lesson. 

“ _ Fuck _ ,” he cursed, immediately jumping up onto his knees. The Thornbite squawked and stumbled to the dust, glaring at him. “Why didn’t you warn me! That’s what you’re  _ here for _ !” He clutched the violin in his hands, so firmly he thought he might break the neck. 

_ “Vanitas _ ! Where are you, you  _ insolent creature _ ! What was I  _ hearing _ !”

“ _ Hide it _ !” Vanitas demanded, shoving the violin at the Thornbite. It squawked and warbled, then took the instrument and rushed off. At least then, the Master would only beat Vanitas senseless, and not take the only thing that made him some semblance of happy. Much as he didn’t want to get beaten, he’d take that over losing his music. “Go! Now!” 

Terror beat hard in his chest, his black heart pounding incessantly. He didn’t think he’d ever felt anything so strong before. It was going to make him sick. If the Master wasn’t coming, he’d have fallen to his knees to puke it up right then. But the last time he’d been sick in front of the Master… well…

“You aren’t training,” the Master snarled when he finally found Vanitas, looking like a demon with his fury. “I have the kindness to give you life, give you a home, and you won’t even  _ repay me with your commitment _ ! What  _ use are you _ !” The Master strode forward and his hand went out, grabbing Vanitas around the throat. Oh yeah, he was mad. He usually only struck Vanitas with his keyblade, or his feet. Vanitas supposed he didn’t want to get his hands dirty. Master Xehanort squeezed until he choked, and snarled, “ _ what was making that noise _ !”

Despite the assault and continued trauma, Vanitas felt something like relief through him. An Unversed had come. It felt like a big one. He spared half a second to glance to his right to see—yeah, an Unversed standing probably fifty feet tall. 

He’d. never made one that big before. 

The Master threw him to the ground and he hit his tailbone. The Unversed came up right behind him and kicked at his back, but gently like it was urging him to rise. It chuffed at the Master, who stared. A gnarly grin was over his face. 

Vanitas rolled over to get a good look at his newest creation. It was tall like a person, with three… musical instruments available at its beck and call. A drum, a trumpet, and… a violin, the one it currently held in its hand. 

He turned golden eyes to meet the Unversed’s red. The Unversed met his gaze and held it for a second. Was it on his side? They normally were, but something this big… well, if it decided it wasn’t, it could squash him like a bug, no questions asked. 

Then the Unversed dipped its head at him, very softly. It brought its violin around and tucked it beneath its chin, brought the bow around with a flourish… and played the very same song Vanitas had composed. It added a flourish or two that Vanitas hadn’t, its own personal style, then bowed to the Master gracefully. The Master took a step away, effectively putting distance between him and Vanitas. 

“Uh… it was,” Vanitas answered his earlier question. “It was… practicing with me.”

“You’ve never made an Unversed this size before,” the Master said to himself, positively perplexed. He ignored what Vanitas had said. “You’ve improved in leaps and bounds—much more than I expected.”

...Was that supposed to be a compliment?

The Master finally remembered Vanitas existed, looking down to him. The Unversed nudged him to his feet helpfully, then decided it was done paying attention and went back to playing. The trumpet and drum decided to join in on their own. “Very good. Your training is not as slack as I expected. Perhaps we’re not in as bad of shape as I feared. Very well. We will not train today. But I expect to see more of these the next time I am here, or our training doubles. Do I make myself clear?”

Vanitas shot him a withering glare before looking up to his giant new companion. He didn’t even know how he’d made this one, how the fuck was he supposed to make  _ more _ ? “...Yes Master.”

The man nodded, turned right around, and left. A Dark Corridor formed in front of him and without even pausing to consider, he walked right through. 

The portal closed. Vanitas spat, “ _ jackass _ ”, then turned up to his huge companion. It was now dancing all around, playing tunes Vanitas knew and didn’t know, skipping its feet in time and just looking at one with the music. The trumpet and drum only added to the sound, turning it into something approaching a symphony.

A symphony, huh? 

The Thornbite returned, shaking, with his instrument. He took it in hand and allowed the little creature to jump up to his shoulder. He settled his violin in place and thought up a countermelody to play alongside the Symphony Master, who seemed just as happy to have someone playing alongside it as he was. Their tunes turned light and delicate and almost cheery, and Vanitas let his troubles be chased away for another day.

* * *

“Come with me, boy,” the Master said as soon as he arrived. “Your training is complete, at least what I can do for you.”

The Spiderchest peeked its eyes up above ground for a second. Vanitas caught its eye and waved his hand—it needed to stay away, the Master needed no reason to expect that anything was amiss.

“So—we’re moving on?”

“We’re moving on. Two of Eraqus’ students are taking their Mark of Mastery exam today. One of them is dipped in darkness and would make a decent… next step.”

Next step? What was that supposed to mean? The Master was cryptic at best most days, but he wouldn’t even give Vanitas a clue?

“He’ll fail. Your only job is to assess Ventus and put him on the right path. Which means no funny business, boy.”

“Yes, Master.”

They were… leaving the Keyblade Graveyard. He was allowed to leave the Graveyard. He had a job to do, but it would be simple. Then, he could get out there and play. Gloria and Stephan would show what they were made of!  _ He _ would show what he was made of. Not just on the tactical front, like the Master wanted, but the musical one.

Vanitas honestly didn’t give even a rat’s ass about the Master’s plans anymore. Maybe once upon a time he had. Sure, his heart still called for Ventus, for his missing half. But the call wasn’t as… needy. As incessant. Not as it used to be. In fact, it wasn’t even as needy and incessant as his new calling, the one that had grown as soon as he stole that violin those years ago. 

Vanitas was going to be a musician. And not Master Xehanort, nor Ventus, nor fate or destiny or  _ whatever  _ they were would get in his way.

“Do you know your place?”

“Yes, Master.”

_ Center stage _ .


End file.
